Anchors



July 7,- 1970 R. A. GEORGE 3,518,957

ANcHoRs Filed April 16, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY 065.27' l; Giava.;

R. A. GEORGE July 7, 197,0

ANCHORS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 16, 1968 INVENTOR .208527 650265 MAQ( ATTORNEY July 7, 1970 R. A GEORGE ANCHORS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 16. 1968 ATTORNEY R. A` GEORGE July 7', 1970 ANCHORS 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed Aprill 16. 1968 ,Q Gm

y iNVENTOR 03527' 19. @5026i mam( ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,518,957 ANCHORS Robert A. George, 175 W. 92nd St., New York, N.Y. 10025 Filed Apr. 16, 1968, Ser. No. 721,663

Int. Cl. B63b 21/38 U.S. Cl. 114-208 '16 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE An anchor with multiple ground-gripping blades, jet and impact means for releasing the anchor from its holding position, and weight adjusting means. The "anchor 1s provided with main and auxiliary blades, the latter being in fixed relation to a cylinder shank, the former lbeing pivotally movable with respect thereto within preset l1m1ts. The cylinder shank is provided with a spring-loaded plunger, operable from the boat, for forcmg water outwardly through forwardly facing orifices to provlde a rearward reactive releasing force, said plunger also serving as impact means for engagement with an anvil at the rear of the anchor to provide a supplementary releasing force. The body portions of the main blades have compartments adapted to house removable weighted members.

BACKGROUND' OF THE `INVENTION The field of the invention This invention relates to anchors, and is particularly directed to means for effecting a secure gripping action on the underwater floor, for producing an effective releasing action of the anchor from its holding position, and for making anchor weight adjustments for use on boats of different sizes.

The known art Conventional anchors rely upon arms or other oomponents secured bo the shank and which are intended to resist sliding of the anchor along the bottom either by digging into it or by engaging rocks or other solid substances that will hold the anchor in place. It 1s a common occurrence for an anchor merely to ride over ground irregularities, so that the boat will remain unanchored while moving a considerable distance. Once the boat is firmly anchored, it is often extremely difiicult to release the anchor. The conventional method of meeting this problem is to rely on direct pulling action such as may be effected by manual effort, pulleys with mechanical advantages or motorized Winches. These conventional methods require considerable effort and often involve expensive equipment.

Another disadvantage of conventional anchors is that sudden wave or wind action causes considerable strains in the anchor rope and connecting fittings, especially when the boat is jerked in a direction away from the anchor, thus making it necessary to employ heavy ropes and fittings for safely taking up the strain. Special Winches connected to the anchor rope for the purpose of alleviating the strain are unsuited for small boats, and are heavy, complex and expensive for boats capable of accommodating them. And with such conventional anchors it is necessary to use great lengths of rope for anchoring in deep water to prevent releasing pulls on the fixed blades.

Another disadvantage of conventional anchors is that they are generally adapted for use Awith boats of a particular size range, so that dealers in such maritime products are required to carry a stock of anchors of many different weights at a considerable investment.

ice

Objectives of the invention The objective of this invention is to provide an anchor that can effectively perform its intended anchoring functions without any of the disadvantages aforesaid. More specifically, among the features and advantages of my invention are the following: the provision of auxiliary blade means for cooperating with the main anchor blades and having depth-adjusting features making unnecessary the release of great lengths of rope in deep water; the provision of yieldable means for eliminating the stress and strain on the anchor rope and on the boats fittings due to sudden wind or wave action; the provision of special jet and impact releasing means for reducing to a minimum the manual effort required to dislodge an anchor, and for obviating the use of cumbersome and expensive devices that must be carried on the boat for such purposes; and the provision of means to vary the weight of the anchor for use on different size boats.

`Other objects, features and advantages Iwill appear from the drawings and the description hereinafter given.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The preferred embodiment of this invention comprises the following coactive features for effecting the abovementioned objectives:

(1) Main blade means pivotally movable with respect to the anchor shank and auxiliary blade means fixedly connected to the shank, the main blade being mounted for limited free pivotal movement with respect to the shank and for yieldably restrained movement beyond the range of free movement, the arrangement being such as to enable the main blade means to move into an effective gripping position while the auxiliary blade means are in gripping position.

(2) Spring means connecting the anchor shank to the main anchor rope and other spring means connecting the main blades to the anchor shank for absorbing strains to which the said rope and attached fitting are subjected.

(3) Jet means having hollow jet elements width forwardly facing outlet orifice, and plunger means operable from the boat for forcing fiuid through the jet elements and out-wardly through the orifices to effect a rearward reactin-g releasing force on the anchor.

(4) Spring-actuated impact means operable from the boat for engagement `with an anvil to effect a rearward releasing force on the anchor.

(5) Weight compartments at the rear of the main blades for removably accommodating a selected number of weighted members.

The details of the above-mentioned coactive means are hereinafter set forth.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a topplan view or the anchor device of this invention, portions being broken away for clarity.

FIG. lA is a section of FIG. 1 taken substantially along line 1A 1A.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear end view of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of arrows 3 3.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section of FIG. 2 taken along line 4 4, parts being shown in elevation, the cylinder shank unit being shown with its movable components in projected position.

FIG. 5 is a section of FIG. 4 taken along line 5 5.

FIG. 5A is a section of FIG. 4 taken along line 5A 5A.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section of FIG. 4 taken along line 6 6.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section of FIG. 6 taken along line 7 7.

FIG. 8 is a section of FIG. 6 taken `along line 8 8.

FIG. 9 is a section of FIG. 6 taken along line 9-9.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the device of this invention.

FIG. 1l is an enlarged section of FIG. 10 taken along line 11-11.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged section of FIG. 10 taken along line 12-12.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged section of FIG. 10 taken along line 13-13.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged section of FIG. l0 taken along line 14-14.

FIG. l5 is a semischematic side elevational view of an anchor device according to this invention shown operatively connected to a boat in shallow water, the broken lines showing the shank in a raised position.

FIG. 16 is a view like FIG. 15, but showing the boat and anchor in relatively deep water.

FIG. 17 is a side view of the anchor device in its initial position on the bottom after being dropped from the boat.

FIG. 18 is a view like FIG. 17 but showing the cylinder shank in a raised position before being operatively drawn forwardly by the boat.

FIG. 19 is a view like FIG. 18 showing the position of the anchor components after the device has been opera tively pulled forward by the boat, and indicating a greater angular divergence between the anchor shank and main blades.

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary longitudinal section substantially like FIG. 4 but showing the telescopic components of the cylinder shank in their extended positions.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the preferred apparatus for accomplishing the abovementioned objectives, two gripping or holding means are employed, one constituting main holding means, and the other auxiliary holding means. The main holding means, generally identified by the reference numeral 20, comprises the two main blade members 21 and 22 each, in the preferred form illustrated, having pointed ground engaging terminals 23 and 24, respectively, lateral edges 25, 26 and 27, 28, and rear body portions 29 and 30. The said auxiliary holding means, generally identied by the reference numeral 31, comprises two relatively short auxiliary blades 32 and 33 of U-shaped configuration, the former having the two claw elements 34 and 35 and the latter the claw elements 36 and 37. The said two auxiliary blades are in angular relation to each other, both being ixedly mounted on the bracket 38 at the base of the anchor shank 39 to be hereinafter described, the y rear of said bracket constituting the crown of the anchor. It will be noted from FIG. 2 that the said auxiliary blades 32 and 33 are in forwardly inclined divergent relation and are supported by the four structural elements 40 extending from the forward portion of said bracket 38.

The said bracket 38 is transversely apertured at the rear thereof to provide the bearing surface 47 for rotatably supporting the bushing 48 containing the medial circumferential groove 49 flanked by the respective end portions 50 and 51, the pin 49a extending into said groove to hold the bushing 48 against lateral movement. The forward portion of said bracket has the cylindrical casing 42 against the interior surface of which is positioned the sleeve 43 enveloping the rearmost portion of said cylinder shank 39. The bottom end 39a of said shank is spaced from the oor constituting the interior base of said casing 42; and the bottom end 43a of said sleeve is also spaced from said base 45 and is provided with two diametrically opposite notched portions 44 and 44a constituting ports communicating with the respective passageways 75 and 75a in the respective jet members 76 and 76a. (See FIGS. 6, 9, 20.) The said jet members are, in the embodiment illusrated, integral with said casing 42 and positioned on diametrically opposite sides thereof, the outlet orifices 41 and 41a being disposed forwardly.

The said bushing 48 contains the axial bore 54 operatively supporting the shaft 55, the opposite terminal portions of said shaft being iixedly secured to the respective rearwardly disposed hubs 56 and 57 of said main blade members 21 and 22. Mounted over said shaft and in anking relation to said bracket 38 are the twoy helical springs 58 and 59, the former being positioned between the inner end portion 60 of hub 56 and the end portion of bushing 48, and the latter being positioned between the inner end portion 61 of hub 57 and the end 51 of said bushing 48.

Each of said hub end portions and 61 has a plurality of pairs of diametrically opposite holes circumferentially arranged, the pairs in said end portion 60 being identified by the following reference numerals: 62, 62; 62a, 62a; 62b, 62b; 62C, 62C; and the pairs in said end portion 61 being identilied by the following reference numerals: 63, 63; 63a, 63a; 63h, 63h; 63C, 63C. The end portions 50 and 51 of the bushing are each provided with one pair of diametrically opposite holes, end portion 50 having the pair of holes 64, 64, and end portion 51 having the pair of holes 65, 65.

The said springs 58 and 59 are each provided at each opposite end with a pair of diametrically opposite terminals-spring 58 with the pair of terminals 66, 66 at the outer end and 67, 67 at the inner end, and spring 59 with the pair of terminals 68, 68 at the inner end and 69, 69 at the outer end. The terminals on the respective inner ends of said springs are proportioned and positioned to t into the pairs of holes in the adjacent end portion of the bushing 48. Specifically, when the `parts are in assembled relation, terminals 67, 67 of spring 58 extend into holes 64, 64 of end portion 50 of the bushing, and terminals 68, 68 of spring 59 extend into holes 65, 65 of end portion 51 of said bushing.

The pair of terminals on the respective outer ends of said springs are adapted to fit into a selected pair of holes in the adjacent end portions of the respective main blade hubs 56 and 57. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the terminals 69, 69 are shown positioned within the holes 63, 63 of the end portion 61 of hub 57. The terminals 66, 66 of spring 58 are positioned within the corresponding pair of holes in end portion 60 of hub 56.

The arrangement is hence such that different degrees of spring tension can be applied to the main blades 21 and 22 for yieldably resisting any rotation of said blades with respect to the cylinder shank 39 beyond limiting positions predetermined in the manner hereinbelow set forth, said limiting positions dening a preset range of free movement. In other words, the selection of correspondingly positioned pairs of holes in hub ends 60 and 61 for receiving the respective spring terminals 66, 66 and 69, 69 will determine the resisting effort of said springs against turning movement of said blades beyond predetermined limiting positions.

The means for limiting the free pivotal movement of said main blades 21 and 22 with respect to the cylinder shank 39 comprises the combination of the said bushing 48 and the adjusting screw 71 with the manually manipulable head 72. The said bushing has a rearwardly disposed flat surface 70 in a plane parallel to the longitudinal extent of the bushings axis, said flat surface facing the rear portion of the bearing surface 47 of the bracket 38, leaving the space 70a. The shank of said screw 71 is in threaded engagement with the aperture 73 at the rear of bracket 38, the inner terminal 74 of the screws shank being abuttable with said flat portion 70 of the bushing. The arrangement is hence such that the screw shank can be adjustably positioned to extend a selected amount into said spa-ce 70a, whereby the amount of free rotation of said bushing 48 may be controlled. If the screw 71 is fully retracted the bushing is free to rotate without restriction. By operatively moving the screw shank inwardly to a predetermined position within said space 70a, the engagement of the screw terminal 74 with the bushings flat p0rtion 70 will result in a limitation of the operative rotary movement of the bushing, the farther in the screw the less the free movement. Since the bushing 48 is connected through the spring 58 and 59 to the respective main blades 21 and 22, in the manner aforesaid, the free pivotal movement of said blades will be limited to an extent corresponding to that of said bushing. Any force tending to increase the pivotal movement of the main blades with respect to the anchor shank 39 lbeyond the above-mentioned limiting positions will be yieldably resisted by said springs 58 and 59 to an extend determined by the above-referred-to selected positions of the spring terminals 66, 66 and `69, 69 within the holes in the respective hub ends 60 and 61.

Telescopically disposed within the cylinder shank 39 is the assembly of the tubular plunger member 77 and the cable 78, the latter extending within the plunger member. The rear of plunger member 77 carries the piston 79 slidably movable within the casing 31 of said cylinder shank 39. The helical spring 80 positioned between the cylindrical casing 81 and the tubular plunger 77 yieldably urges said piston 79 towards the said base 45 of said casing 42, the ends of said spring bearing against the shoulder 82 of the piston and the bushing 83, respectively, said latter bushing being positioned between the forward portions of said tubular plunger member 77 and the said casing 81. Attached to the rear end of said cable 78 is the ball `84, the inner helical spring 85 enveloping said cable and being in abutting engagement with said ball 84 and the plug 86 within the forward portion of said tubular plunger member 77, said plug being centrally apertured at 87. The said cable 78, extending outwardly through said apertured portion 87, has attached to its upper end the fitting 88 to which is secured the main anchor rope 89 extending from the boat 90. The said helical spring 85, pressing upon the ball 84, yielding urges the cable 78 rearwardly into the tubular plunger, resisting outward pulls applied to the cable through the main anchor rope 89.

At the forward end of the casing 81 of the plunger 77 are the two diametrically opposite pairs of lins 91, 91 and 92, 92 extending in a generally longitudinal direction and disposed on the same sides of the cylinder shank 39 as the two pairs of auxiliary bla-des 32 and 33, respectively. In the preferred embodiment sh'own each pair forms a V-shaped arrangement with the apex rearwardly disposed, said fins serving as positional guiding means for the cylinder shank 39 both during the descent of the anchor and during the releasing movement to be hereinafter described. In the forward portion of the cylinder shank 39, preferably in the region within the said two V-shaped fin formations, are the respective orice 93 and 94 communicating with the interior of the cylinder shank 39; and extending through the bushing 83 at the forward end of the shank are the two diametrically opposite passage- `ways 95 and 96 also communicating with the interior of the cylinder shank. These orifices and passageways serve as vents and discharge channels during the operative movement of the plunger 77 within the cylinder shank 39.

The body portions 29 and 30 of the respective main blades 21 and 22 each has upper and lower compartments 97 and 98 formed by the intermediate wall 99 and the upper and lower casings 100` and 101, the upper casing 100 being removably secured in place by the fastener 102. The said intermediate wall 99 of each of said main blades, which in the embodiment shown is a rear extension thereof, contains a plurality of apertured portions 103 adapted to receive therein the weighted members 104. The number of the weighted members employed is determined by the size of the boat-larger and heavier boats requiring more weights as determined by experience or calculation. The arrangement is such as to enable selected weighted members 104 to be readily applied at the opposite rear portions of the main blades in balanced array.

The rear portions of the main blades also have, at their respective laterally opposite sides, the supplementary side blades 105 and 106, whose functions will be hereinafter described. These side blades are disposed in planes substantially normal to the planes of' the respective main blades. Each of said side blades, in the form illustrated, comprises two forwardly extending prongs 107 and 108, and is supported by the lateral outwardly extending portion 109 of the adjacent one of said intermediate walls 99.

In operatively employing this device it is necessary iirst to manipulate the screw member 71 for setting the amunt of free angular movement of the main blades 21 and 22 with respect to the cylinder shank 39, in the manner above described, the setting being dependent upon the depth of the water. For relatively shallow water, the amount of free movement of the main blades with respect to the shank is relatively small, the permissible free play increasing with the depth of the water. For example, FIG. 15 shows the setting for relatively shallow water, the dotdash position of the cylinder shank 39 indicating a maximum angle A between the main blade 21 and shank 39. FIG. 16 shows the device in relatively deep water, the angle B indicating a maximum angle B between the main blades and shank greater than angle A. The setting for deeper water thus allows a greater fri-ee angular movement between the cylinder shank and the main blades before there is resistance against a further :angular separation of the shank and main blades.

After the proper setting is made, the anchor is dropped until it reaches the bottom 110 in the position shown in FIG. 17, the tins 91, 91 and 92, 92 helping to prevent a rotary movement of the cylinder shank around its longitudinal axis during the anchors descent. When the anchor reaches bottom, the lower auxiliary blade 33 makes initial contact, the slackening of the tension in the main cable 89 permitting the shank 39 to pivot downwardly into resting engagement with the bottom 110 as shown in FIG. 17. The claw elements 36 and 37 dig into the ground, thereby either stopping or retarding the forward movement of the anchor. In the process of effecting an anchoring action, the boat moves forwardly, whereby the cylinder shank 39 is pivotally tilted upwardly due to the free play permitted it by the previous setting of screw 71, and the inclined main blades 21 and 22 begin to dig into the ground, as indicated in FIG. 18. At this point the pronged side blades 105 and 106 are also in engagement with the ground, whereby the forward movement of the boat will produce a turning moment of said side blades in the direction of arrow C; and since the said side blades 105 and 106 are in fixed relation to said main blades 21 and 22, a corresponding supplementary turning effort in the same direction will be exerted upon the said main blades, causing them to move downwardly and increasing their inclination to the bottom, as shown in FIG. 19. The arrangement is hence such as to provide a triple gripping action of the blades, effecting a firm securement of the anchor.

It should be noted that the operative pull exerted by the anchor rope 89 is transmitted to the said springs 80 and 85 within the cylinder shank 39. This spring-loaded cylinder shank construction thus serves as a restraining member to provide yieldable resistance against wave and wind forces urging the boat away from the anchor, thereby preventing impact damage to boat ttings and eliminating the need to employ an extra-heavy anchor rope and correspondingly heavy fittings. This yieldable resisting action is supplemented by the said springs 58 and 59 mounted over the shaft 55 to which the main blade members are ixedly attached. A dislodging force tending to produce relative movement between the main blades and the anchor shank will meet additional yieldable resistance when said dislodging force tends to rotate said main blades beyond their preset free play range.

An important feature of this invention is its anchorage releasing action. When it is desired to release the anchor the boat is moved rearwardly towards the anchor, creating a slack in the anchor rope 89. An upward pull is then applied to the anchor rope to take up the slack until resistance is encountered due to the holding action of the said springs 80 and 85. At this point a further upward pull is applied to the anchor rope 89 against the resistance of said springs, thereby first retracting the cable 78 from its projected position within the plunger member 77, a further continued pull retracting the plunger member 77 from its projected position within the cylinder shank 39. As the plunger member 77 is being withdrawn from the cylinder shank, Water is drawn into the bottom of the said casing 42 at the rear portion of the cylinder shank through the passageways 75 and 75a of the respective jet members 76 and 76a, and the said ports 44 and 44a. The continued forward movement of the plunger member 77 draws water into the interior of the cylinder shank 39. The said orifices 93 and 94 at the forward portion of the cylinder shank, and the passageways 95 and 96, permit the ejection of water forwardly of the said piston 79.

When it is determined that there can be no further telescopic extension of the plunger member 77 and cable 78, that is, when the cylinder 79 and the ball 84 are in their respective foremost positions as illustrated in FIG. 20, the anchor rope 89 is released, whereupon both the cable 79 and the plunger member 77 are instantly drawn into the cylinder shank by the action of the respective springs 85 and 80. The said springs are proportioned and positioned to provide sufficient actuating force as to cause both the cable 78 and the plunger 77 to return to their rearmost normal positions with considerable speed. The arrangement is such that the water that had been drawn into the cylinder shank 39 below the piston 79 will be forced outwardly through the said jet members 76 and 76a, streams of water being ejected from the orifices 41 and 41a in a forwardly direction with considerable velocity. This causes a jet reaction force directed against the entire anchor in a rearwardly direction, thereby loosening the claw elements 36 and 37 and the main blades 21 and 22, as well as the side blades 105 and 106 from their gripping action.

The said spring 80 is preferably designed to produce an impact action of the piston 79 against the said `base 48 of the bracket 38, whereby said base serves as an anvil. This rearwardly directed impact force acts upon the entire anchor, thus having a further releasing effect thereon.

To complete the releasing action, the boat is moved rearwardly so as to enable the anchor rope to pivotally swing the cylinder shank 39 rearwardly. The consequent upward and rearward pivoting movement of said cylinder shank will lift the main blades 21 and 22 and said blades y105 and 106 out of the bottom; and the continued upward and rearward pivotal movement of said cylinder shanlk beyond the preset range of free movement will also force the auxiliary blade 33 to be lifted out of the ground, since the said springs 58 and 59 connect the main blades with the auxiliary blades in the manner aforesaid. The continued rearward movement of the boat also results in a rearward pulling components directly applied to the cylinder shank to complete the anchor releasing action. The device thus accomplishes a triple releasing action of the anchor by the above described jet action, impact action, and direct action of the rearward pull of the anchor rope.

In the above description, the invention has been disclosed merely by way of example and in preferred manner; but obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any form or manner of practicing same.

I claim:

1. In an anchor, a shank, ground holding means at the rear thereof, and anchorage releasing means comprising jet 'meau connected to said shank and having a generally forwardly facing outlet orifice `disposed laterally of said shank and in communication with the lateral exterior thereof, whereby upon the operative actuation of said jet means a rearward reactive releasing force is applied to the anchor.

2. In an anchor, a hollow shank', ground holding means at the rear thereof, water inlet and outlet means in said shank and anchorage releasing means comprising impact means having an impact element and an anvil within said hollow shank, said impact element being movable between an inoperative retracted position spaced forwardly from said anvil and a projected operative position in engagement therewith, and means for propelling said impact element from said retracted position into operative engagement with said anvil, whereby a rearward releasing force will be applied to the anchor.

3. In an anchor, the combination according to claim 1, said jet means having a hollow jet element communieating with said outlet orifice, fluid storage means communicating with the interior of said hollow jet element, and pressure means for forcing fluid from said storage means through said jet element and outwardly through said orice, whereby said rearward reactive releasing force is applied to the anchor.

4. In an anchor, a shank, ground holding means at the rear thereof, and anchorage releasing means comprising jet means connected to said shank and having a generally forwardly facing outlet orice disposed laterally of said shank and in communication with the lateral exterior thereof, whereby upon the operative actuation of said jet means a rearward reactive releasing force is applied to the anchor, said pet means having a hollow jet element communicating with said outlet orice, fluid storage means communicating with the interior of said hollow jet element, and pressure means for forcing fluid from said storage means through said jet element and outwardly through said orifice, said shank comprising an elongated cylinder and a spring-loaded plunger operatively movable therein between a forward retracted position and a rear projected operative position, said plunger being yieldably urged rearwardly, said cylinder communicating with said hollow jet element, a rope connected to said plunger and extending outwardly from said shan-k and adapted for manual grasping, whereby upon an operative pull on the rope a predetermined amount the plunger will be operatively retracted and fluid will be drawn into said cylinder, and upon a release of the rope said spring-loaded plunger will be yieldably actuated rearwardly to force the fluid within the cylinder out through said outlet orifice of said pet element, said cylinder and plunger constituting said fluid storage and pressure means.

5. In an anchor, the combination according to claim 4, said anchor having at the rear thereof a bracket, a hollow casing at the forward portion of said bracket, the rearmost portion of said cylinder extending intoand communicating with said casing, and a port in said bracket communicating between said hollow jet element and said casing.

6. In an anchor, the combination according to claim 5, said jet element being mounted on the outside of said bracket, the hollow interior portion thereof extending in the general longitudinal direction of said cylinder.

7. In an anchor, the combination according to claim 5, said hollow casing of said bracket having a base at its rear portion, said plunger being engageable with said base Iwhen in its operatively projected rearmost position, whereby upon the operative return of the plunger after the release of said rope the plunger will strike said base, thereby applying a rearward releasing impact force to the anchor.

8. In an anchor, the combination according to claim 7, said jet means having two jet elements 4positioned at diametrically opposite sides of said anchor each with a forwardly facing outlet orifice.

9. In an anchor, the combination according to claim 4, said plunger having at the rear portion thereof a piston in slidable engagement with the interior wall of said cylinder, the portion of said plunger forwardly of said piston being spaced from said interior wall, the forward end of said cylinder having a bushing through which said forward portion of the plunger slidably extends, and a helical spring enveloping said forward portion of the plunger and having its opposite ends in yieldable abutment with said bushing and said piston, whereby the piston and plunger will be yieldably iurged rearwardly.

10. In an anchor, the combination according to claim 9, said bushing having a passageway communicating between the exterior of said cylinder and the interior thereof.

11. In an anchor, the combination according to claim 10, the forward portion of said cylinder having an apertured portion communicating between the exterior of said cylinder and the interior thereof.

12. In an anchor, the combination according to claim 4, said plunger being of hollow construction and having therein a springsloaded cable yieldably urged rearwardly, the said rope being secured to the forward terminal end of said cable, whereby upon an operative pull of said rope said cable and said plunger will be telescopically drawn out forwardly from said shank into their operative retracted positions, and upon an operative release of said rope, said cable and plunger will be yieldably returned to their rearmost positions.

13. In an anchor, the combination according to claim 12, said hollow plunger having at the forward end thereof, a centrally apertured plug through which said cable extends, said cable having at the rear thereof a stop member, said hollow plunger having therein a helical spring enveloping said cable and being in yieldable engagement at opposite ends thereof with said plug and stop member, whereby the cable will be yieldably urged rearwardly within the plunger.

14. In an anchor, the combination according to claim 4, said cylinder having at diametrically opposite sides of the forward portion thereof a plurality of tins extending in a generally longitudinal direction.

15. In an anchor, a shank, ground holding means at the rear thereof, and anchorage releasing means cornprising impact means attached to the anchor and having an anvil, an impact element movable between an inoperative retracted position spaced forwardly from said anvil and a projected operative position in engagement therewith, and means for propelling said impact element from said retracted position into operative engagement with said anvil, whereby a rearward releasing force will be applied to the anchor, said shank comprising an elongated cylinder and a spring-loaded plunger operatively movable therein between a. forward retracted position and a rear projected operative position, said plunger being yieldably urged rearwardly, said anchor having at the rear thereof a bracket, a hollow casing at the forward portion of said bracket, the rearmost portion of said cylinder extending into said casing, said casing having a base at its rear portion, said plunger being engageable with said base when in its operatively projected rearmost position, said plunger constituting said impact element and said base constituting said anvil, a rope connected to said plunger and extending outwardly from said shank and adapted for manual grasping, whereby upon an operative pull on the rope a predetermined amount the plunger will be operatively retracted and upon a release of the rope said spring-loaded plunger will be yieldably actuated rearwardly, whereby upon the operative return of the plunger after the release of said rope the plunger will strike said base, thereby applying the said rearward releasing impact force to the anchor.

16. In an anchor, the combination according to claim 15, said bracket having exteriorly thereof a hollow jet element with a generally forwardly facing outlet orifice, said casingcommunicating with said jet element and said cylinder, whereby upon the operative forward actuation of said plunger fluid will be drawn into the cylinder and upon the operative rearward actuation of the plunger the fluid within the cylinder will be forced out through said outlet orilices of said jet element, whereby an additional releasing force will be applied to the anchor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 294,813 3/1884 Schmeelk 114-207 1,414,992 5/1922 Meier 114-208 FOREIGN PATENTS 229.563 2/ 1925 Great Britain.

TRYGVE M. BLIX, Primary Examiner 

